The State government is mulling over the idea of introducing a board-level examination at either class 5 or 8 or both.
At a press conference here on Tuesday, S.R. Umashankar, Principal Secretary, Department of Primary and Secondary Education, said they were consulting with various stakeholders regarding this. “Once the model code of conduct comes to an end, we will take a decision and ensure that the examination is introduced from the 2019-20 academic year itself,” he said.
Section 30(1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, which had stated that no child shall be required to face any Board examination till the completion of elementary education, was amended earlier this year. The State government can now decide to conduct a board examination for class 5 or 8 students. Mr. Umashankar also pointed out that the department was contemplating whether they should introduce two levels of mathematics examination similar to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
The Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka has demanded that the two levels of examination be conducted for mathematics as the pass percentage in this subject was low.